'Our daughter took her own life and we are so proud of her'

'Our daughter took her own life and we are so proud of her'

Damian BathersbyA journalist for more than 25 years, Damian Bathersby takes a completely irreverent look at life in his weekly blog Through My Eyes. The twice-married father of four and stepfather of two refuses to take things too seriously because he reckons taking cheap shots at life is the only thing that keeps him sane these days.

Condolence cards still sit on the table in the dining room, alongside a photo of David, Sue and Julie.

It's a recent Christmas celebration and everyone is smiling.

The Wischers are still reeling from Julie's suicide but over-riding their emotional pain is pride in what their daughter had the courage to do and a determination that no one else should ever go through the emotional and physical pain she did.

"I want to give them support because I believe everyone has a right to make their own decisions - not have decisions made for them, especially if they are in pain or they don't want to be here.

"Not for nefarious reasons but for a genuine reason - that they are in pain and their life is not worth living.

"Julie's life was not one that could be salvaged.

"It wasn't one you could turn around.

"She had too much wrong with her and I believe people like that have a right to die.

"There might be other people who might be mentally askew or not quite thinking right and yes, a lot of them can be turned around by Lifeline or someone like that. That's fine.

"But there are people who can't.

"Any terminal illness - I think people have a right to die."

Some time before she died - probably before her first suicide attempt - Julie wrote a letter to Simon and Sue which she left for them to find in her personal possessions.

In it, she thanked them for their love and support during her prolonged health battles.

The card Julie Hunter left for her parents when took her own life. It's something they will treasure for the rest of their lives.john mccutcheon

"Never try to justify the reason for my passing as I am in a beautiful new world, free of pain, free of frustration and free of what would have been a cruel future with the course of these diseases," she wrote.